The present invention, xe2x80x9cTractor Drawbar Hitchxe2x80x9d, relates to a sturdy T-shaped apparatus for connecting a plurality of trail-behind mowers for towing by a power vehicle such as an all-terrain vehicle or the like, more particularly, to an assembly having at least three pivot points for ganging multiple trail-behind mowers for towing by a tractor-mower or all-terrain vehicle while allowing each mower to freely move up and down individually in rough terrain.
The xe2x80x9cTractor Drawbar Hitchxe2x80x9d is designed to save considerable amount of time and manpower when mowing large areas of land. It is ideal for large estates, farms, and golf courses. The present invention allows fewer individuals to mow more grass in less time, and it sets up in minutes. And, due to the multiple pivot point hitches, it enables the user to mow uneven terrain easily and quickly.
The present invention is constructed of 2xc2xd inch square tubing, 2 inch square tubing, pivot and lynch pins, xe2x85x9 inch cable, 2xc3x97xc2xc inch flat iron, cable hooks and clamps. Two trail-behind mowers are designed to attach to either side of the device, and then attach to the back of a tractor mower or ATV. To use, simply attach the device""s hinge pins (which features at least three pivot points) to each trail behind mower, and then attach the cable pins and drawbar pin to the tractor or ATV. A plurality of mowers may be added by simply attaching another mower to a rear hitch located at the back of the device.
Assemblies for connecting multiple mowers, or gang hitches, are well known as prior art and the following patents shall be discussed relative to the present invention: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,097,059, 4,815,259, 5,069,022, and 5,851,020.
Prior art typically deals with gang hitch assemblies for which multiple off-the-shelf push mowers may be ganged together for creating a greater cutting width. The xe2x80x9cTractor Drawbar Hitchxe2x80x9d relates to trail-behind mowers with much wider cutting widths, more specifically, it relates to trail-behind mowers manufactured by Swisher Mower Machine Company presently having a non-limiting cutting width of 60 inches. And yet, with minimal effort the present invention could easily include an attachment to retrofit with any manufactured trail-behind mower.
As shall be more fully illustrated in the detailed description, the present invention is both fundamental and versatile in that it connects to Swisher Mower Machine Company trail-behind mowers by merely sliding a drawbar into hollow crossbars already located at the top of each mower. As such, attachments could easily be included to interface with any make or model of trail-behind mowers.
Swisher(trademark) presently has its"" own hitch apparatus for pulling trail-behind mowers. It consists of a light duty hitch with one center pivot point offsetting a first mower behind a tractor-mower. A second mower can be vertically connected to the first mower whereby the two mowers could be pulled side by side behind the tractor-mower, however, such setup is not a recommended by Swisher(trademark). Moreover, having no side terrain pivot points, such design does not sufficiently account for undulations or other variations in the contour of the terrain traversed by the assembly. A preferable design would be a heavy-duty hitch with multiple pivot points allowing for easier use, independent horizontal mower movement, and superior durability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,059 issued to Springer on Jun. 27, 1978 defines a bracket for connecting a standard off the shelf push mower to a powered vehicle such as a motorcycle or the like. The principal concept of this design is to provide a vertical pivot point to better allow a two wheeled vehicle to pull a mower while enabling the rider to maintain control of the vehicle in rough terrain, it does not allow for a plurality of mowers to be pulled by a powered vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,259 issued to Scott on Mar. 28, 1989 teaches a frame designed for ganging together a plurality of standard off the shelf rotary push mowers for towing by a vehicle. A great feature of this design is that it allows vertical and horizontal pivoting between the mowers. And yet it calls for two mowers being ganged together behind a first mower therefore an inherent problem with this design is that a third mower could not be eliminated by a tractor-mower being used to pull the mowers. Consequently, the design requires three mowers and a powered vehicle to achieve triple the cutting width, and the use of a tractor-mower would only result in double cutting. A principal feature of the design incorporates skids to replace each of the rotary push mowers"" tires to prevent the lightweight mowers from tipping when making turns. As such, it comprises multiple parts including an extensive list of small parts such as skids, cotter pins, cuter pins, and nuts and bolts. Assembly and disassembly is therefore burdensome and time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,022 issued to Vandermark on Dec. 3, 1991 discloses a gang mower apparatus that is powered from the power take off of the tractor to engage the mowers. This design requires a high horse power tractor, hydraulics, gearboxes, universal joints, hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic hoses and other wearing parts. Manufacturing would be costly and the inclusion of so many non-wear resistant components could result in multiple extended down times. Transport of this apparatus is cost prohibitive where hydraulics are necessary to raise the mowers for transport from one location to another and disassembly for transport would be too burdensome and time consuming. And further, the maximum travel speed between locations is only about twenty-five miles per hour.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,020 issued to Godwin on Dec. 22, 1998 teaches a gang hitch assembly having a mechanism to connect each individual push-type mower to the gang hitch with a pin and a spring for exerting a lifting force between the pin and the hitch thereby transferring some of the weight on the mower""s front wheels to the gang hitch. The Principal concept of this design is to allow mowers with non-steerable front and rear wheels to have greater maneuverability while being pulledxe2x80x94a problem not inherent with trail-behind mowers, or the applicants design.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art by providing few, easily manufactured parts, no springs or hydraulics, quick, easy assembly and disassembly, easy transport, a heavy-duty durable design, the option to use a tractor-type mower instead of pulling three mowers by a non-mowing vehicle, and at least three distinct pivot points to allow the mowers to have optimal horizontal movement.
What""s more, a typical off the shelf push type mower generally has a cutting width in the 20-22 inch range; the typical trail-behind mower presently has a much greater cutting width and, the greater the width, the greater the weight. Tipping therefore is not a problem with trail-behind mowers when being ganged together and pulled behind a power vehicle. Moreover, typical trail-behind mowers have design features already included to prevent xe2x80x9ctip-oversxe2x80x9d, such as wheel assemblies being mounted at potential tip points to allow the trail-behind mower to roll at an angle if necessary. Extensive experimentation by the applicant, however, has proven that the present invention has no need of the precautionary wheel assemblies provided on such mowers because tipping during turns, sharp or otherwise, is not a problem.
Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a gang hitch apparatus for connecting a plurality of trail-behind mowers that is sturdy, versatile, and yet easy to assemble, disassemble and dismantle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a gang hitch apparatus for connecting two trail-behind mowers in staggered relation to a riding lawnmower for permitting efficient use of the riding lawnmower while eliminating the need for a third trail-behind mower.
A further object is to provide a gang hitch apparatus for connecting a plurality of trail-behind mowers that would be cheap and easy to manufacture with relatively few components and a minimal amount of small parts and wear points.
An additional object is to provide a gang hitch apparatus for connecting a plurality of trail-behind mowers having at least three pivot points to allow the mowers optimal horizontal movement on rough terrain.
These objects, as well as further objects and advantages will become readily apparent after reading the detailed description of the non-limiting illustrative embodiment with the accompanying drawings.
Briefly, the present invention comprises a tractor drawbar adapted to be releasably connected to a center drawbar thereby forming a T-shaped apparatus having a left and right drawbar being releasably connected to each end of the T-shaped apparatus thereby longitudinally extending the T to each trail-behind mower for a connection distal to the tractor drawbar so that each mower is pulled behind a tractor-mower on either side thereof with sufficient crossover of the cutting paths taken into account for turns.
More specifically, the invention comprises a tractor drawbar for pivotal attachment on a forward end thereof to a conventional drawbar of the tractor mower or all-terrain vehicle; a pivot pin being perpendicularly fixed to a left side of the rearward end of the tractor drawbar with the center drawbar having a pivot hinge fixedly secured at a central location thereof; the tractor drawbar is thus pivotally attached to the center drawbar via the pivot pin conically mating with the pivot hinge thus forming a T-shaped assembly; the center drawbar also having two hinge sleeves fixedly attached at a left and right end thereof; the hinge sleeves being attached perpendicular to a frontward and rearward side respectively of the center drawbar at two edges of both ends thereby creating a gap between the two sleeves a width consistent with the center drawbar; a left mower drawbar having a pivotal sleeve fixedly secured at a first end thereof; the left mower drawbar connecting to the left end of the center drawbar by inserting the sleeve into the gap thereof; insertion of a hinge pin through the three hinge sleeves completes and secures the connection; a right mower draw bar identical to the left mower drawbar connecting to the second end of the center drawbar in the same manner; and having a hitch fixedly attached to the center drawbar at an opposite side to the pivot hitch whereby a plurality of mowers may also be pulled by the gang hitch assembly.